Hajime glanced back at Kaori, shrugged, and said briefly, "It'll be fine, just stay where you are." He then immediately activated 『Instant Light』, his body's perception explosively increasing. He then took out three cross-shaped floaters from his 『Treasure House』 and positioned them around Kaori and Shizuku like shields.

A floating cross suddenly appeared from thin air, causing Kaori and Shizuku to stare wide-eyed in surprise. Hajime turned his back on them and, with what could be described as arrogance, addressed the original culprit, the female demon. He showed her particular mercy because she wasn't his enemy yet.

"Red-haired girl over there, if you leave right now, I promise I won't chase you. If you don't want to die, disappear immediately."

"……What did you say?"

Come to think of it, an average person surrounded by monsters would never say such a thing. Therefore, the witch couldn't help but ask back. Hajime repeated with a look of disapproval:

"On the battlefield, you have to make quick decisions. I'm saying, if you run away now, I'll let you go. Do you understand?"

After the female demon confirmed that she had heard correctly, her expression suddenly tightened, and then -

"Kill him!"

She pointed a finger at Hajime and gave the monster a short command.

At this time, because the situation happened too suddenly - especially the beloved beast, Ahato was killed by the inexplicable attack. The female demon lost her composure and made a fatal mistake.

Partly due to Hajime's arrogance, but primarily because Ahato, a demon gifted to the demoness by her beloved superior, was being trampled upon by Hajime, she was filled with rage. Furthermore, the fact that Hajime and his companions had broken through the maze ceiling and descended from the sky was an unnatural event that further confused her.

In short, if she were a normal female demon, she would have made a more cautious judgment, but the current situation forced her to take a gamble.

"I see. Then I can consider you an 'enemy', right?"

As Hajime whispered this, the shaking space attacked him.

From behind him came frantic warnings like, "Hajime-kun!" and "Nagumo-kun!" A chimera attacked from the left, but Hajime, unfazed, reached out his prosthetic hand and grabbed it, hoisting it into the air like a kitten.

The Chimera was startled, but struggled to break free from Hajime's grasp, causing the shaking of the space to intensify. Hajime, upon seeing this, looked at the Chimera with a look of disapproval.

"Hey, hey, what's with this half-baked special magic? Is it some kind of sideshow?"

It was supposed to be a special magic to conceal one's presence or traces, but every time the Chimera made a move, the space shook violently, making no sense at all. Even if one were to put the cart before the horse, there had to be a limit—Hajime couldn't help but grumble.

In the abyss, some monsters possessed the ability to erase their presence and form, but both were extremely difficult to conceal. Compared to this, the invisibility magic that revealed its flaws the moment it moved seemed too crude to Hajime.

Not only did Hajime lift the huge body weighing hundreds of kilograms with just one hand, but the Chimera also kept twisting its body in mid-air and struggling desperately, but Hajime remained motionless. The female demon, Kaori and others were all stunned.

He glanced at the group from the corner of his eye, as if disdaining the Chimera for not even being worth observing, and channeled his strength into his prosthetic hand. A shuddering "click" echoed throughout the surroundings, and the violently shaking space abruptly stopped. The Chimera, its head held captive, emerged before everyone. Its former majesty was gone, its twisted and shattered head still in Hajime's grasp, its body limp and motionless.

“No way…”

Someone murmured in a hoarse voice.

Hajime casually tossed the now-dead Chimera away, then unsheathed the Donner with a perfectly natural motion. Like water flowing from high to low, he aimed with an almost unnatural ease. He pointed the muzzle at what seemed like nothing, yet—

boom!boom!

The sniper shot definitely did not miss.

With a resounding crack, two red flashes streaked across the sky, piercing their target without hesitation. Space shook momentarily, revealing a Chimera with its head exploding and a Pseudo-Bruttar with its heart pierced. After a brief pause in mid-air, they staggered and plummeted to the ground.

“How did you know…?”

The witch blurted out the question unconsciously.

Hajime merely snorted coldly, without responding. Even though the monsters were motionless, the movement of the wind, the vibrations of the air and the ground, their gazes, their murderous intent, the flow of their magic power, their body temperatures—all of it was clearly visible. In Hajime's eyes, these monsters were nothing more than targets standing still.

Without even glancing at the monster he had instantly killed, Hajime headed towards the battlefield—no, towards the execution ground.

What unfolded next couldn't even be called a battle. Rather, it was a one-sided execution led by a monster from the abyss (one that should never be made an enemy).

Seeing Hajime killing the monster effortlessly, the female demon was speechless; the weapon that could not exist in this world made Nagayama and others amazed and stood there in shock.

The monsters ignored the frozen crowd and attacked Hajime one by one in order to faithfully carry out the orders of the female demon.

The black cat approached from behind, holding its breath, and just as it was about to extend its tentacles, Hajime, without even turning his head, twisted his wrist, letting it hang carelessly, and fired the Donald in his hand backwards. The bullet, traveling at supersonic speed, easily pierced the black cat's skull.

The two four-eyed wolves completely ignored their companions who had been flung away, and pounced on Hajime from both sides simultaneously. Hajime raised the Hulaq, which he had unsheathed at some point, and aimed it at the enemy on the left. He then pointed the muzzle of the Donald towards the enemy on the right, and blasted the target away at almost zero range.

In an instant, the black cat, hidden behind the dead four-eyed wolf, joined forces with the chimera approaching from behind. They fired tentacles, but they failed to reach even a hair on Shi, who dodged. Furthermore, Shi, under the cover of the electromagnetic cannon, simultaneously fired a normal bullet. It bounced off the ground and slammed upwards into the black cat's chin, delivering a heavyweight uppercut.

Just as the black cat's body was flipping uncontrollably backwards, Hajime used his "Go-Kick" to push down and fiercely kick the flying Chimera.

Without even looking at the black cat floating in the air or the Chimera that was dazed from the concussion, Hajime released a fatal flash of light.

“Guaaaaaaaaa!”

“Hoooooooooooooooooooo!”

The false Brutal roared, attacking Shi from both sides. Its war club, like a death scythe, whistled with the wind as it swung towards Shi with the intent of crushing everything. However, Shi swiftly turned and crouched, dodging the false Brutal's attack from the right and knocking it to the ground. Then, using the false Brutal, which was waving its arms foolishly and floating in mid-air, as a shield, he pushed it towards its fellow creature standing opposite.

“Gah!?”

The roar was filled with confusion. The two creatures embraced each other in a loving embrace, and then a flash of light flashed across, piercing through them both, killing them instantly.

At this moment, eight black cats, leaping through the air in a crisscross pattern, simultaneously attacked Hajime. However, this time, they didn't launch tentacles, but instead used their incredibly high-speed aerial movements to slash with their sharp claws.

Hajime's hands, like two separate creatures, each launched its own attack. Donal, in his right hand, aimed forward, while Hulak, in his left, circled behind. If Donal aimed to the right, Hulak would aim to the left. Donal struck past the right armpit, while Hulak ravaged the monster in front. Hulak pierced the enemy to the right, while Donal splattered blood on the one behind him. The shattering flashes of the two railguns were clearly aimed at different targets.

That is a state of reaching the pinnacle.

Its movements are by no means like the Kingdom Knight Swordsmanship used by Captain Meld, or Shizuku's Yaegashi-ryu, which are the unique and refined movements of martial arts passed down from generation to generation. In fact, it can even be said to be very crude.

Yet, it was very reasonable. Undoubtedly, almost to the extreme.

Like flowing water, he moves naturally to positions vulnerable to enemy attacks. He judges countless targets with decimal-level precision, prioritizing each action, each action linked to the next. Simply knowing martial arts kata is not enough to achieve this level of skill. Only through vast experience can one achieve the ultimate rationality, and that is found in Hajime's movements.

A smile appeared on Hajime's lips.

It wasn't out of the pleasure of trampling over the enemy, but rather a declaration of war against an unreasonable world: "If you can kill me, go ahead and try!" That smile revealed his determination to survive and his awareness of killing in the face of all difficulties and existence.

At the perfect moment when Donal and Hulak ran out of bullets, the Four-Eyed Wolf and Chimera launched another attack, as if they had not learned their lesson yet.

Hajime leaped several meters into the air, then flipped, swiftly turning his gun in this upside-down world. In a split second, Donal and Hulak had reloaded their guns. Hajime's unpredictable leap had lost them, and the two four-eyed wolves and the chimera, which had drifted aimlessly in mid-air, were instantly slain by the gun.

The monster's flesh and blood fell like snowflakes. As if calculating the perfect moment to land, the two pseudo-Brutals approached, brandishing their war clubs.

However, such a clichéd development was of course useless against the monster-incarnate Hajime. Hajime used his "air power" to leap into the air once more, spinning like a top while continuously firing the Donar and Hulak in his hands.

The murderous hurricane unleashed pierced the two pseudo-brutals that had exploded in the ground, as well as the heads of the Chimera and Four-Eyed Wolf that were approaching from behind. The blood-splattered monsters, driven by inertia, passed under Hajime's feet. After each took a few steps forward, their bodies went limp and they collapsed to the ground.

Hajime landed silently in the center of the intersection covered with corpses and blood, turned his gun again, and reloaded all the bullets he had taken from the void.

When the initial reloading was completed, a strange sound of "Jijiwaa ...

Shi looked towards the source of the sound, and saw that Abusode was looking at Shi with its mouth wide open. The pure white light in its mouth was shining and gathering like a raging wave.

That was the immense prana accumulated from Captain Meld's "Last Loyalty" move just now. While its range was limited to a few meters, it possessed more than enough power to annihilate a single individual.

The powerful magic power gathered to its limit, and the next moment, it turned into a cannonball and fired out -

The death beam shot straight at Hajime, gouging a crack in the ground along its trajectory. However, Hajime calmly drew a large, coffin-shaped shield from thin air, attached it to his left arm, and simultaneously activated his "Vajra." Like a tree rooted in the earth, he displayed a will as unshakable as a mountain, his eyes devoid of any trace of anxiety.

The moment the magical bombardment struck head-on, a deafening roar echoed throughout, shaking the very air. Its sheer force was undeniable. But Hajime, who had taken the direct hit, remained standing, as if determined, without moving a single step. Furthermore, a playful smile played on his face as he adjusted the angle of his shield, deflecting the attack. The deflected shells then headed towards—

“Huh!? Damn it!”

The demon woman. From the moment Hajime mercilessly slaughtered the monsters, the demon woman, driven by a sense of danger, decided that she needed to unleash a powerful spell and began to chant with great force. Hajime noticed this and redirected his attack towards the demon woman, who was probably secretly directing Abusoth to launch the attack, interrupting the chanting.

Hajime adjusted the angle of his shield, directing his barrage towards the demon woman, who was frantically dodging due to the suddenness of the situation. The raging wave of light, destroying the wall as it approached, caused the demon woman to flee in panic along the wall, her expression devoid of any trace of composure.

However, just as the bombardment that was blocked by Shi was about to get close to her, and the female demon thought that she would suffer the consequences and be buried under the attack she ordered, the magic power stored in Abusode was completely exhausted, and the bombardment stopped abruptly.

“Tsk…”

The female demon, covered in cold sweat, had no time to pay attention to Hajime's smacking of lips. When she finally breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly froze into stone.

Just as an explosion sounded, a shock and heat wave swept across the demon girl's right cheek, and a vague white unidentified object flashed before her eyes.

It was the corpse of the White Crow monster that had rested on the Demoness's shoulder not long ago. Since the bombardment failed to hit the Demoness as expected, Hajime, venting his frustration, aimed Donal and Shulak at Absode and White Crow respectively.

Abuso was hit by a speeding bullet that could easily outpace sound. Before he could realize his own death, the bullet penetrated his gaping mouth, wreaking havoc from the inside, plunging his consciousness into eternal darkness.

The white crow's body exploded and it died instantly, its white feathers mixed with blood and flesh flying around.

The demoness, caught in the aftermath of the electromagnetic cannon, collapsed to the ground, unable to withstand the impact, stroking her cheek in confusion. Her face was stained with white crow's flesh and blood, as well as severe burns left by the previous heat wave.

If the attack had been slightly off... the female demon felt a shudder running down her spine when she thought of this.

The man before him, as if playing or crushing a bug, effortlessly dispatched the legions of monsters boasting of their invincibility. He could kill him at any moment; right now, his life was in his hands.

After realizing this, the demon woman, who had always prided herself on possessing a warrior-like spirit, trembled. The overwhelming premonition of death, coupled with the monstrous, impossible existence before her, made her feel as if her sanity was gradually being eroded.

What is that? Why does that thing exist? How can I survive that monster?!

These thoughts swirled in the witch's mind.

The same thing happened to Kouki and the others. They didn't immediately realize that the white-haired, eye-patch boy was actually Hajime. They only knew that a mysterious figure had suddenly appeared and, without a scratch, had fought off the monsters that had given them such a hard time.

“What’s going on… who is he?!”

Kouki's motionless body lay on the ground, whispering these words, a thought echoed in the minds of everyone present. The one who spoke out to answer them all was Endo, his companion who had just escaped by chance and returned here through sheer willpower.

"Haha, this might be hard to believe... He's Nagumo."

"""""What?""""""

Hearing Endo's words, Kouki and the others all let out a chorus of foolish noises. Everyone looked at Endo with an expression that clearly said, "Is this guy's head okay?" Endo thought, "That's understandable," but since it was the absolute truth, he could only shrug and continue.

"I told you, he's Nagumo, Nagumo Hajime! The Nagumo who fell off the bridge that day. At the bottom of the maze, he desperately tried to find a way out and climbed up with his own strength. Even on the way here, he cleared out the maze monsters like they were minions. It's really exaggerated, isn't it? I can't believe it... but it's all true!"

"You mean Nagumo... Eh? Is Nagumo still alive?"

Kouki's tone was filled with astonishment. Nagayama and the others simultaneously took another look at the monstrous boy, currently displaying his prowess in a battle of annihilation... but they all denied it in unison, "How is he like Nagumo?" Endo, understanding their feelings, chuckled dryly and said, "No, it's true. He's changed a lot, but I checked his status board." This reaffirmed that the boy was indeed Nagumo.

Everyone stared blankly at Hajime's unstoppable appearance with a look of disbelief on their faces. Someone shouted angrily in a tone filled with helplessness and hesitation:

“You’re lying! Nagumo’s dead! Right? Everyone saw it, right? How could he still be alive? Stop talking nonsense!”

"Ugh, what the hell! I told you I've already checked the status board, and he admitted it himself, so there's no way he's wrong!"

"You're kidding! There must be something going on here! I know, he must have some ulterior motive in impersonating Nagumo!"

"No, what are you talking about? There's no point in doing that, right?"

Hiyama clutched Endō's collar tightly, speaking incoherently. His face livid, and with uncanny energy, he completely denied Hajime's existence. Seeing Hiyama's attitude, the others standing by retreated in bewilderment.

Just when Hiyama was feeling a bit confused, he was suddenly splashed with cold water. This wasn't a metaphor. A large amount of cold water suddenly appeared on Hiyama's head, forming a small waterfall. Perhaps because the timing of his breathing was not coordinated well, Hiyama seemed to be drowning. Not only was he soaked like a drowned chicken, but he also coughed violently. "What's going on?" Hiyama's thoughts fell into chaos. At this moment, a voice even colder than the cold water was cast at him:

"...Just stay still and don't get in the way."

That arrogant attitude infuriated Hiyama. However, as he turned his gaze toward the source of the voice, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. The voice's owner, Yue, looked at Hiyama with a cold gaze, as if staring at a bug.

At the same time, the bigger reason was Yue's beauty - she was like a top-grade porcelain doll made based on the ideal girl's model, making Hiyama completely forget the current situation and stare at her intently.

Kouki and the others were no exception. Everyone, male or female, naturally gravitated towards the beautiful girl who had suddenly appeared before them. Suzu was completely transfixed, letting out a strange "Wow!" The girl wasn't just beautiful; she also exuded a subtle allure that contradicted her childish appearance. Perhaps that was why Kouki and the others couldn't help but stare.

At that moment, perhaps under the command of the demoness, several monsters joined forces and attacked Kouki's group. Like Captain Meld, they were likely planning to take them hostage. After all, defeating Hajime through legitimate means was hopeless, so she resorted to the old-fashioned method.

Although Ling wanted to activate the barrier immediately, her relentless use of magic caused her already weakened body to wail. She pursed her lips, trying to hold onto consciousness as she threatened to faint... but Yue gently raised a hand, restraining her stubbornness. Yue gently touched Ling's head, and Ling couldn't help but let out a "Huh?" and stopped chanting.

"……It's fine."

Yue only murmured a few words, but despite having no basis for her words, Ling felt an inexplicable sense of relief, thinking, "Ah, it's all right now," and her body instantly relaxed. Even Qian didn't know why he believed Yue's words so easily, as if he was being protected by a reliable sister.

Yue turned his gaze away from Ling and looked down at the monsters that were constantly waving their claws, tentacles, and war clubs. After a few whispers, he pulled the trigger of his magic:

“—Blue Dragon.”

Instantly, a bluish-white sphere, approximately one meter in diameter, appeared above Yue and his companions' heads. It was one of the highest-level spells known to all fire magicians, a blue flame magic capable of incinerating everything—"Blue Sky."

To instantly activate this magic without chanting was not something an ordinary person could do. The rearguard, in particular, was completely unable to comprehend what was happening and simply stared blankly at the burning pale sun overhead.

However, what happened next was what surprised them most. The blazing blue flames suddenly twisted and turned into a giant snake, attacking the false Brutal, who was holding his war club high, ready to strike. It devoured him and instantly destroyed him without leaving a trace.

The blue flames dancing in the air, constantly changing shape, finally revealed their true form—

A giant dragon burning with blue flames.

The approximately thirty-meter-long Azure Dragon, centered around the moon, curled up its body as if to protect Kouki and the others, its head raised high. The monsters were at a loss, unable to approach due to the brilliant crimson flames that could incinerate everything. Suddenly, the Azure Dragon opened its jaws—

Roar!

A deafening roar, like an explosion, ripped through the air. The trembling monsters quickly lost their weight and floated into the air, one after another, into the blue dragon's mouth. The monsters' desperate struggles, even in mid-air, to escape confirmed they weren't committing suicide. However, the sight of them flying directly into the blue dragon's mouth and ultimately burning to ashes looked like a ruthless, self-destructive joke.

"What kind of magic is this..."

Someone murmured. Drawing all the surrounding monsters in, then setting them on fire, completely consuming them, the group was left speechless with amazement at this magic that transcended all knowledge.

This is understandable, because this magic, like "Thunder Dragon", is a compound magic of the highest level fire magic and gravity magic, and was created by Yue himself.

By the way, why not use the Blue Dragon instead of the Thunder Dragon? Yue simply wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to train. Using the Blue Dragon, which emits intense heat in a confined space, requires adjusting the airflow and providing protection against the heat waves, requiring far more skill than using the Thunder Dragon.

Of course, Guanghui and his companions were unaware of these details, so they turned their attention from the Azure Dragon back to the sorcerer Yue, seeking an explanation from her.

But Yue, standing proud and unhurried, looked like a god descending from the sky, illuminated by the azure dragon's flames. Everyone held their breath as they watched, searching for an explanation, but no words came to their lips.

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